Description
The Art of Describing
The ability to articulate what you observe in a work of art or architecture is one of the most important keys to success in an art history class. In this course you will be expected to identify the formal and stylistic qualities that are particular to various historical periods or geographical regions (or both). When writing a comparison of two sculptures it is not enough to say that the treatment of drapery or hair on the two works is similar or different. What exactly makes them similar? What exactly makes them different? The purpose of this assignment is to hone your powers of observation and descriptive writing skills, which you can apply to exams, quizzes, future writing assignments, as well as to work in your other courses.
Read the Introduction and sections entitled Visual Description and “Realistic” on the Writing About Art website. Then choose one of the works of art listed below that are on display in the Syracuse University Art Museum. Write a one-page description of that work. Keep in mind that this is not an interpretative paper. That is, you are not expected to place the work in an historical context, discuss who made it, liken it to other works, or make qualitative (good, bad, ugly, beautiful, etc.) judgments about its appearance. Simply describe it using as many specifics as possible in terms of its size, medium, color, imagery, etc. It may help to imagine that you are describing the object to someone who cannot see it. Begin with generalities and then move to specifics.
We expect these papers to be well written and well organized. Use clear, precise prose and proofread your paper for grammar, spelling, and typographical errors. You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the Writing Center and/or have your TA look over a draft of your paper prior to submitting it.
Form and Content:
In addition to the specifications for length and content outlined above, you will be graded according to the following specifications for your paper’s form. Please address any questions you may have to your TA.
Papers must be submitted as Word files. PDFs will not be accepted. Please note that Microsoft Office 365, which includes Word, is free to all SU students. If you are working in Google Docs, please ensure the formatting is correct when you export your paper to Word.
Please save your paper under your last name (e.g. Smith HOA 105 Writing Assignment 1.docx)
List (single-space) your name, the course number, date, and the title of your essay at the top left of the page